


The Alternate Universes Job

by ThinkingofWordstoWrite



Category: Leverage, Supernatural, White Collar
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alcohol, Alternate Universes, Baking, Bar fights, Bars, Chefs, Coffee, Comfort Food, Cooking, Evil Scientists - Freeform, F/M, Family of Choice, Fighting, Gen, Hacking, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mentions of Stargate SG 1, Multi, Other - Freeform, Sarcasm, Stress, Supernatural - Freeform, Swearing, Team as Family, White Collar - Freeform, black suvs, illegal experimentation on humans, smut/romance, tiny interaction with supernatural
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-02 15:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8672506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThinkingofWordstoWrite/pseuds/ThinkingofWordstoWrite
Summary: Eliot winds up saving a girl who claims that she's from an alternate universe wherein his life is part of a television series called "Leverage".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I get that this is a little late in the Leverage fandom. But as I only discovered the show after it got cancelled (of course), I lingered a bit in writing it. This fic was what I've been craving, but haven't found. Sure, there's several good fanfics in Leverage, but they weren't quite what I wanted to read.   
> This took careful plotting, and not to mention I had to research a bit about (illegal) human experimentation, what characters would do in such a situation as this, How to Write Smut/Romance (as that's SO not what I write), and Creating a Plot That's Believable.   
> I'm hoping, as I put this up, that readers will comment if they like it or if they spot errors. This will be the only author's notes, except for maybe at the end if I need to include one. Spoilers for the entire series of the show, as needed.  
> Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy.   
> -ThinkingofWordstoWrite

The lamps outside the bar were always on. 

It was a standing rule with the team, but mostly thanks to Eliot, letting those that needed help to understand that someone was always home, the bar was always open, and that if they truly needed help, then someone would be there-waiting to assist them out of a tight spot. 

Sometimes, it paid off. 

Most of the times, it didn't.

Eliot was the only one working late that evening, or so he thought, as he was wiping down the counters and setting up chairs. The bar was fast becoming the place that he currently called 'home', and he knew that if the group didn't move soon...

They'd place their roots down here for good. 

Not that that wasn't a bad thing. 

This city was alright, despite the high crime. He liked the people, and the music, he even liked the food.

But was it enough?

Pondering thoughts of things to come, he almost missed hearing the quiet knock at the door, where the sign obviously read closed. The second time, he looked over and saw a woman-

Scared.

Young. 

And not alone. 

Growling, he threw the towel off to the side, not caring where it landed, and went to the door. The woman, he noted, was backing away from the two men who had weapons drawn. 

Eyes narrowed, he yanked open the door. 

"Miss, why don't you come on inside?" He suggested calmly, moving to place himself in front of her. 

He didn't listen to her response, instead he studied his two opponets. These two guys exchanged wary glances, and looked back at him. Both had pistols, and they looked like government. 

He hated when the government terrorized innocent people. 

"I'm giving you ten seconds to leave," Eliot said calmly, crossing his arms over his chest. The two men glared at him. 

"We'll leave once she's in our custody," One snapped, sounding irate. 

"Ten," Eliot intoned, ignoring him-making sure she was pressed behind him and close to the door, just in case. 

"What are you going to do, call the cops?" The second one demanded, glancing towards the girl. "They work for us, dimwit!" 

"Nine." 

"You don't think you'll protect her forever, do you?" The first one asked, serious. 

"Eight." Eliot fought the urge to smirk. He was giving them a fair chance to run, and was hoping these idiots wouldn't. It had been at least a week since his last big smackdown, as Parker liked to call it. 

"Come on, we only want the girl-"

"Seven," Eliot's voice turned dark, cutting him off and clenching his fists. 

The two men looked at one another-then left, almost at a dead run towards a black suv that Eliot somehow had missed coming outside. Granted it was three in the morning, and it was parked at the end of the street, but...maybe Hardison can pull something off them. 

"Thank you," The girl's voice was soft, hesitant-almost too wary, given the circumstances. Eliot turned, and gave her his best smile. 

"No problem. Come on in, and I'll get you something to eat. I promise, I won't hurt you." He added, as she glanced around. 

"I know you won't," She said, so softly he almost missed it. Deciding to ignore it, he held open the door, and waited for her to step inside. 

As she moved in, he couldn't help but wonder what it was about him and his team that always seemed to be getting cases at three in the fucking morning.

 

*End Chapter*


	2. Chapter 2

Half an hour later, Eliot and the young girl was parked at a table in the center of the bar. He'd put a small snack of little sandwiches, cheese, and crackers in front of her, along with some hot chamomile tea. He figured she could use the warmth, and added his dark leather jacket around her shoulders. She thanked him with a small smile, and he felt like his heart almost stopped as he stared into her deep blue eyes. 

"So what's your story?" Eliot asked, studying her as she took a sip of the tea. After setting the tea back down, she let out a long, shuddering breathe.

"Are you sure you want to be involved?" She asked. 

"Sweetheart, I'm already involved." He said, amused. 

She watched him, as though trying to figure him out-all his deep, dark secrets. 

"I...they..." She began, haltingly, and then burst into tears, taking him by surprise. He sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do. 

"Eliot, are you scaring the customers again?" Nate asked, coming into the bar wearing nothing but his pajamas. Sophie was with him wearing stylishly black pajamas, and Eliot rolled his eyes. As Sophie came to sooth the girl, Parker and Hardison came into the room, Parker literally bounding around in her pajamas as well. 

"Why are you all down here?" Eliot asked, ignoring Nate's question. 

"Dude, remember I told you I added alarms to the door? Plus, Parker had a feeling something was going to happen, so I checked the cameras. I already ran the plates on the SUV, and they're with the FBI, though based on the suits, I wouldn't be surprised if other companies were involved. So, I asked around, did a facial recognition, but nothing popped up. Nothing!" Hardison exclaimed. 

"So?" Eliot asked, as Sophie managed to quiet the girl successfully. 

"Dude, they're with the FBI! There's ALWAYS files on people who work with them. ALWAYS!" 

"They aren't FBI," The girl said, sniffling quietly. 

They all turned to her in surprise, and Nate frowned, taking the small glass of whiskey he'd poured and holding it gently in his hands. 

"What?" Hardison asked, staring at her. 

"They aren't FBI," She repeated, accepting the tissue that Sophie handed her. "They're not a part of any legal, offical governement. They're scientists." 

Eliot got a sudden bad feeling in his stomach, and from the expression the others faces, he knew they had the same bad feeling. 

"I hate scientists. They're creepy." Hardison muttered, gaining an agreeing nod from Parker. 

"Scientists," Nate said, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean," She said, quietly. "That they took me from my home in the middle of the night as I was watching a television show called Leverage on TNT, and brought me here to this world, and kept me along with twenty four other civilians in cages in an underground bunker in the wilderness where they experimented on all of us without our express permission." 

And that was when Eliot knew that he was right: that this was going to be their next, big case.

 

*End Chapter Two*


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm confused," Parker announced, breaking the silence. 

"So am I," Hardison muttered. 

"I can prove I'm telling the truth," The girl said, looking up. There was a determined flare of fire in her eyes, Eliot observed, and she looked serious and hopeful and even more scared than before. Scared that they'd send her away? Scared that they wouldn't believe her? He didn't know.

"Alright. Prove your from an alternate universe," Nate challenged, as the others remained silent. 

There was a pause. 

"You're name is Nate. You had a son, and he died because the hospital didn't take care of him properly. You're still trying to get revenge. You're name is...Sophie," There was a slight pause as she said her name, and Sophie narrowed her eyes at her. "You're backstory-have you told them who you really are?" She asked, and Sophie shook her head. "Oh."

"What? Sophie's not Sophie?" Parker asked, glancing at her. 

"You're an orphan," The girl changed track, looking at Parker and freezing Parker in place as she spoke. "You were brought up by a man that's got a wife and a daughter. You feel out of place with them. You wish you didn't." 

She turned to Hardison. 

"You have a Nana. She's not your real Nana, because you're an orphan too, but she is pretty much the most real family you've got-until you met these four. You're hacking skills got you in trouble with many different governments."

She turned to Eliot. 

"You're wanted in four different countries, you have a father and brother who hates you, and you're a decent country singer." She paused. "Country sucks," She added. 

"It does not," Eliot responded, scowling. 

Parker giggled quietly at his expression, as Hardison rolled his eyes. Nate and Sophie exchanged looks, before Nate turned towards her.

"Okay, so you know who we are. That doesn't prove your from an alternate reality-" Nate began, and she interrupted. 

"It's October 24, 2017. Hilary Clintin is against Donald Trump in the elections for President. Russia is backing Donald Trump. The Cubs tied in the world series for the first time in 167 years. There are already settlements being built up in Mars for civilians to go and live and work there-"

"The Cubs tied? Really?" Hardison interrupted, excited. 

Eliot turned to glare at Hardison. 

"Seriously?" 

"Dude, do you have any idea how huge a deal that is to my Nana?!" Hardison exclaimed. "That the CUBS won!-"

"Tied," Parker and the girl said at the same time. 

"Same dif!" Hardison said, grinning idiocally. 

"Let's say that you're telling the truth," Nate said, interrupting the bantering. The team looked at him. "Where were you being held? Who are the people holding you? And how dangerous are they?" 

Eliot watched her close her eyes, as if trying to reimagine things. 

"There were twenty-four other captives-that I knew about." She muttered, glancing downwards. Her fingers were moving, and she looked suddenly tense as she was remembering. "At least twice as many guards. Fourty scientists? I think? Long white hallways, lots of moniters with the beeping and whatever...I don't know how dangerous they were. There was only one time that I wasn't sleepy and weak, and that was the time I used to escape. I ran from where I was in the woods, and just kept running. I hid in streets, and in the public library one night." 

"How'd you hide in the library? Wouldn't they have tried to go in despite the locks on the doors?" Parker asked, sounding suspicious. 

"I climbed one of the really big bookshelves, and stayed on top of it, reading and being as quiet as possible. They only saw me when I left the building," She explained.   
Parker's eyes gleamed, and Eliot rolled her eyes. The girl was obviously getting on Parker's good graces, at least. 

His as well, he reluctantly thought, as she glanced at him. 

"You don't fit your tv counterpart. You're a lot more like Natasha Romanov," She informed him. 

Parker giggled, even as Sophie smirked. Hardison looked amused, and Nate just looked lost at the reference. He was glad he wasn't the only one that was confused. 

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" He asked, frowning. 

"Natasha Romanov is one of the deadliest spies in the comic book world, fit in with the Avengers. She's also seriously hot. Therefore, I'd say yes." Hardison said, giving him a pitying expression. "Why not say he's like Thor?" 

"Thor is louder, and not near as...intimidating." She explained, studying Eliot with a critical eye. 

"This is probably a stupid question, coming into it so late-but what's your name?" Nate asked, interrupting the comparison.

She blinked, and looked at him. 

For a moment, the girl was silent and then said slowly, 

"I doubt that I can ever go back to my world. I have no idea how I was brought here, and I don't know if I even want to go back. There's not much for me there. Would it be alright, if..." 

"If you started new?" Eliot finished softly, understanding. The others looked as though they also understood. 

Eliot glanced at Nate, and the two of them quietly spoke an entire conversation without saying a single word. 

Glancing back at her, Eliot smiled. 

"What name would you like to have?" He asked.

 

*End Chapter Three*


	4. Chapter 4

They talked further into the early morning hours; Sophie, at one point, going to fix some coffee and tea for everyone. The girl eventually picked a new name, choosing to be called Sam. 

"From Stargate SG1," She added, and they looked at her blankly. "A scifi show. It starred Richard Dean Anderson," 

"MacGuyver?" Nate asked, frowning. 

Eliot noted that Hardison was already looking it up on his phone-least, that's what he assumed, as he couldn't really see the screen from where he was located. Sam nodded.

"Huh," Hardison blinked. "It's not showing up on Google," 

"Cool. A trade to work on," Sam said with a grin. 

"Isn't that technically stealing?" Sophie pointed out. 

"Aren't you technically thieves?" Sam returned, gaining narrowed eyes-and then a smirk. 

"I think you're a keeper, should you choose to stay." Sophie decided, glancing at Nate for support. Nate only sipped his alcohol. Eliot narrowed his eyes at the man, wondering how many that's made so far. 

"So. What is it you want us to do?" Nate asked, glancing at Sam steadily, swirling the amber liquid inside his glass.

Sam blinked.

"I thought-isn't it your group's main job...rescuing people from difficult situations? There are twenty four innocent people-that I know of-stuck and being experimented on by scientists. Scientists who may or may not work for the government. And if they don't work for the government, then who do they work for?" She asked, frowning. "I never saw a symbol or name or anything on the walls. They were bare, and the floors were too. We weren't underground, nor in a warehouse, but in a kind of...old, forgotten hospital ward. At least, that's what it felt like." 

"Do you remember how far you've come from that place?" Hardison asked, already on his phone and obviously attempting to look it up. Eliot wished he could do something productive; the entire idea of people being experimented on left a bad taste in his mouth. 

"Alright. If we rescue these people...how are we going to get them back to their homes? You obviously want to stay here, but what of the rest?" Nate challenged, and she sighed, rubbing her forehead as though developing a headache. 

Eliot sympathized, as Nate did the same thing with him quite a lot. 

"I don't know the others. Some are male, some are female...we weren't allowed to talk to one another, and the experiments generally wiped us out so that we slept instead. We were kept in cells...with bunk beds attached, though we didn't have a roommate. I got the feeling that they wanted us isolated on purpose, so we couldn't share details, or work on escape..." Sam swallowed. "If you don't help me rescue them, then I'll try to rescue them myself..." 

"Even if it gets you captured again?" Nate asked, wryly. "No, we'll help you out. You're right, this isn't something we'd ignore. But we need as much information about the place as possible before planning a rescue." He added.

"I get that," Sam agreed. "But...I know time is of the essense..." 

"Nate, she's exhausted. It's nearly four in the morning," Eliot cut in, and Sam gave him a grateful look. "Besides, I'm pretty sure the rest of us can use the rest too. We'll get up, get breakfast, and then start planning and recon." Eliot suggested. 

Nate sighed. 

"Fine. Let's all head off to bed. Miss, why don't you stick with Parker? I'm sure she can show you to a nice spot to sleep." 

"She can have my bed-I'll take the couch. I also think we should increase security. Something about those guys makes me think we need to be alert and on guard," Eliot said, frowning at the door. 

"I'll triple the security. No one, not even Parker's dad, can get through. Hell, I'll even call in reinforcements," Hardison said, scowling.

"Get Will Wheaton to help you," Sam offered, as she lingered with the group, yawning.

Hardison and the others blinked. 

"You know him?" Hardison asked, frowning. 

"He was on an episode...you and he are enemies, but you work together to bring a bad guy down." She explained, and Hardison frowned further. 

"Talk about it later," Eliot suggested, shaking his head. "Right now we all need sleep."

"Agreed. We'll meet back here tomorrow," Nate decided. "In the meantime...get some rest, everyone." 

And with that, the group scattered.

 

*End Chapter Four*


	5. Chapter 5

As Parker led Sam off to a bed, Eliot moved to where Hardison was conversing with Nate and Sophie. The three of them were watching Hardison's screen, as he was moving things about, and then-

"Why are you calling me at four in the damn morning, Hardison?" Will Wheaton's voice came up on speakerphone. 

"Because I've got a situation where we can use your help," Hardison said, scowling. He didn't like Will, but Eliot felt as though old rivals weren't an issue at the moment. 

Right now, they just needed security, help, and information. 

"What?" Will asked, yawning. 

"We've rescued a girl from what we thought were FBI agents, only she says that they're scientists...and that they're doing illegal experimentation on innocent human beings." Nate said calmly. 

For a moment there was silence.

"Is this a joke?" Will asked, sounding irate-but also concerned. It took him a moment to register that fact, but Eliot heard it, as did the others.

"Sadly, no." Sophie answered. "The girl is terrified, though she's doing a good job of hiding it. She's in over her head, and based on what she's told us...we might be too," Sophie looked as though the mere fact of admitting that annoyed her. 

Eliot agreed with her sentiments.

"Fine," Will grumbled, yawning again. "But you guys owe me. What do you want?"

"We need our place a bit more secured than usual," Hardison informed him, and the two of them began to chat about security and computers and stuff that just went over Eliot's head. Eliot ignored Hardison for the moment, and went to Nate. 

"We should call in our own friends, let them be aware of the danger," Eliot told Nate. Sophie was listening to both conversations, Eliot knew, and wasn't surprised to see her talking to Will but looking at him and Nate. 

"I'll call in the proper people. Think we should alert Sterling?" Nate mused, frowning. 

"Sterling is an ass, and probably won't believe that this just wasn't another scam." Eliot said, snorting. 

"Probably, but he's also got more manpower, and he's got connections in Washington we desperately need for this sort of case," Nate returned, scowling. 

Eliot sighed. 

"Fine. But if he drugs me again..." Eliot said, glaring.

"You can punch him as much as you want," Nate said, grinning suddenly. "And I want to be there to see it." 

"Boys," Sophie's voice, startled the pair of them. "We're pretty much wrapping things up with Wheaton. I think we ought to call it a night, after doing one final parimeter check, don't you?"

"Want me to Watch?" Eliot asked. 'Watch' was their word for staying up and guarding against unknown dangers, making sure nothing took them by surprise. He generally did such, as the others used their strengths in computers and spying, while he fought of the really tough guys. 

Nate considered. 

"Not tonight," He said finally. "Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow..."

"Today." Hardison corrected from where he was still typing away on his phone. 

"Today, we rest a bit, and then...later we'll regroup." Nate informed them. "For now-go get some rest." 

Eliot nodded.

It took a few more minutes to turn off lights, and shut things down, but...

Fifteen minutes later, he was in his room and he fell onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his clothes. 

It was finally time to sleep.

He just hoped it would be enough for the long days to come.

 

*End Chapter Five*


	6. Chapter 6

Eliot woke later than he would've liked, and quickly flung together his outfit-a nice pair of faded blue jeans, and a black tshirt that not only showed off his muscles but had the name of one of his favorite artists on it: "Blake Shelton". The guy was awesome, and sometimes Eliot wished that he had a life as normal as him. 

Downstairs, the restaraunt was bustling with people. Eliot frowned, wondering why they were still open for business, then realized that most of these people weren't normal people-they were thugs, some were familiar...

Then he spotted Sam talking energetically with Parker, the two of them hovering over plans of a blueprint that he guessed Hardison had pulled from somewhere. Sophie was with Nate, talking in their usual spot, and Hardison was nowhere to be seen. 

He meandered over to Nate and Sophie. 

"What's going on?" 

"We've called in a small army," Nate informed him, cutting off whatever conversation he'd been having with Sophie. Nate looked exhausted, as did Sophie, and Eliot somehow sensed-knew-that the two had been up all night. "A few people we've helped out in the past, showing up-mostly for show." 

"Make them think we're tougher than we look?" Eliot asked, skeptically. 

"Partly," Nate agreed. "Hardison is off helping bring in Wheaton, along with a couple of other hacker buddies we've not yet had the pleasure of meeting. Though if they're anything like Hardison..."

"We'll have a computer warfare." Eliot finished. 

Sam and Parker chose that moment to join them. 

"Eliot! Glad you're up!" Parker said, bouncing where she stood. "Sam doesn't like coffee, and let me have hers," She added as the group stared at her. 

"More coffee, Parker?" Eliot asked, with a sigh. 

"Sorry," Sam said, apologetically. "I didn't realize that caffine made her so...energetic." 

"It's fine, we might need that energy today." Nate said, waving a hand. "So, Sam. Get enough rest?"

"Yes, and thank you," Sam said, looking gratefully at all of them. 

"Not at all. Hardison's blueprints help at all?"

"Some. I remember the hallway leading to the bathroom, at any rate. There was an air vent in the women's bathroom, no idea about the men's. Parker says she can use that as a means of entrance if need be. Though it's also freezing in that building-another means of keeping us from thinking straight, I think." Sam said, frowning. 

"Quite likely," Sophie agreed. 

"In the meantime," Nate went on. "Sterling said he'd be here in under three hours, along with six of his best men. Is there anyone you think could help us in this place, Sam, that we haven't met yet?" 

Sam bit her lip, obviously looking nervous as she stood there watching them watch her. 

"Um...I don't know...is there any chance that the Avengers are real here?" She asked, rather hesitantly. 

"Not to our knowledge," Hardison said. "And believe me, I've already checked-and so has Wheaton." 

"What about Torchwood?" Sam asked. 

"What's that?" Nate asked, blinking. 

"That's linked with Doctor Who, and also a 'no'." Wheaton interjected, grinning at her. "I'm guessing your like Hardison and I-a big giant geek," 

"Guilty as charged, though I know nothing about hacking. I'm okay with computers, though," Sam admitted. 

"I'll teach you-you can be my protege! I've always wanted one of those!" Wheaton said, enthused. 

Sam grinned. 

"I'll take you up on your offer. In fact, why don't you and Hardison teach me different tricks? That way, if we do computer warfare, they won't know what to expect..." 

"Good idea. Anything else?" 

"White Collar Unit in New York might work-anybody ever hear of Neal Caffrey?" Sam asked, and Eliot began to get the feeling she only knew television references. 

"He another tv character?" Eliot asked. 

"Actually, yes." Sam admitted, sheepishly. "You guys didn't make a whole lot of powerful friends, more enemies really. But the enemy of your enemy..."

"Is our friend," Nate finished. "Right. Anyone recognize Caffrey's name?" 

No one responded, and so Hardison looked him up. 

"Hey! He exists! He's currently working in the White Collar Office in-what the hell? Someone's hacking me!" 

"Probably Mozzie. If you can, talk to Mozzie and tell him the sparrow cries at noon-should stop the hacking," She urged quickly. 

Hardison did just that, and it stopped abruptly. 

Instead, a Skype Screen appeared almost instantly, and Mozzie was on the screen looking rather irritated and alarmed. 

"Who is this?" He demanded. 

"A friend in need of help," Sam interjected, parking next to Hardison's side. "Mozzie, I'm from an alternate universe, and there's twenty-four people who need help." 

"Prove it," Mozzie said with narrowed eyes. 

They all looked at Sam, who paused, thought, and said, 

"Your name is Mozzie because, as a kid, you could never say Mozart." She offered. There was a long pause. 

"Huh. Okay." Mozzie said, studying her intently. "I accept your from an alternate reality. How'd you get here?" 

"I have no clue. Scientists somehow brought me here, and they're holding twenty-four other people. I escaped, and wound up here. From my reality, you are part of a television series called White Collar that focuses on conman Neal Caffrey-also known as Nick Haldon, amongst other names-and finding the music box along with Kate." Sam informed him.   
Mozzie blinked. 

"I'm part of a tv show? Really?" He asked, sounding more excited than skeptical. "You'll tell me the details later, won't you? Was I a good guy?"

"The best," She reassured him. 

Mozzie took a breath. 

"Okay. What do you need from me?" 

"Help. If you can bring in those kids you've been training over here, that would be a nice start-but only if they want to." Sam added hastily, seeing Mozzie's eyes narrow. He relaxed upon her declaration of their wanting to, and nodded. "And...maybe the FBI? It would help if we had someone legit here who wouldn't arrest most of my friends here on sight." 

"Peter might go for it, especially seeing as we're saving innocent lives." Mozzie mused. "Alright. Anything from the art world?" 

"Not for this case, but Nate-"

"Hang on," Nate interjected slowly. "Caffrey. Neal Caffrey. Wears a fedora?" He questioned at Mozzie, who nodded. "Damn. I know him-he's snatched a few jobs out from under me!"   
Nate protested.

Mozzie laughed. 

"That's definitely Neal," Mozzie agreed. "Which jobs?"

The conversation was abruptly interrupted from one of the guys at the door, waving frantically at the team. 

"We'll get back to you," Hardison said hastily. "No more hacking my computer!" 

"No promises," They heard before Hardison slammed his laptop shut. 

In came Sterling, causing Eliot to growl. He was surprised when Sam, now standing next to him, grasped his hand lightly. He paused, and looked sideways at her, but she was staring at Sterling with an odd look on her face. 

"Problem?" He asked her quietly. 

"I'm going to try something. If his eyes glow black, please don't freak out," She whispered, and he blinked. 

That was...disturbing, he reluctantly admitted to himself. 

"Christo!" Sam said, and gained a frown from everyone. 

"What's that mean?" Sterling asked her suspiciously. 

"It means that in an alternate universe, you're the Prince of Hell attempting to bring about the apocalpyse," Sam informed him, and his eyes went wide. He glanced accusingly at Nate. 

"Did you finally find someone crazier than Parker?" He demanded, looking irritated.

"Sort of," Nate said smoothly, ignored Sam's annoyed look in his direction. "Thanks for coming, Sterling. Drink?"

"If you don't mind," Sterling agreed. "But can I do coffee?" 

"Be my guest," Nate said, and with that the pair went to chat business. Eliot felt that this was all becoming very weird very quickly. 

"The Prince of Hell?" Eliot asked. 

"My theory that you hate him so much is that you're the Dean Winchester of this universe," Sam said with a grin.

He blinked. 

*End Chapter Six*


	7. Chapter 7

After an hour of politics, and figuring shit out, Eliot finally got sick of all the sitting around, and decided to go scout the area. Unsurprisingly, Hardison and Parker tagged along with him, both of them looking serious and he couldn't help but smirk at them. 

"What's so funny?" Parker asked, giving him a sideways look as she hung upside down from the ceiling. She loved testing her gear, and so Eliot and the others let her do her thing so long as she was ready for the reconnisence. 

"Just thinking you two don't wear serious looks very well," He admitted. He hated lying to his team, and so he generally told them exactly what he was thinking. 

She pouted.

"We can be serious!" She protested. 

"Totally serious," Hardison added with a grin. "But I get what you mean. It's more fun clowning around!" 

He conceeded the point-as Hardison was right-and checked his watch. It was ticking away as normal, and he could hear the little tick tick tick that it usually did. He wondered what   
Sam was doing right now. Probably with Sophie and Nate, the two of them going over every tiny detail that she could remember.

He hoped that Sterling was behaving himself as well.

"Stop worrying!" Parker said, flipping a perfect circle before landing on her feet. "It's annoying, and it doesn't help with the job!" 

He scowled at her. 

"Worrying IS my job,"

"Actually, it's Nate's." Hardison pointed out, putting a soda back in the fridge. He hated wasting food, and the others agreed that it wasn't a good idea. While soda wasn't good for you, it was the stuff that helped speeded Hardison's ability to type. Eliot didn't get it, but he didn't begrudge him one of the few joys in life that the guy had.

"Fine. I'll quit worrying if you two would quit getting into danger every time I turned around," Eliot offered. 

Parker laughed her crazy laugh, while Hardison snorted in amusement and clapped him on the back while heading out the door. 

Figures.

They rarely took him seriously.

Clowns.  
-

Nate, Sophie, Sam:

"Okay," Sophie said, coming over with a pitcher of fresh coffee. She poured some for everyone, except for Sterling. Sam startled them by pouring for Sterling, and Sterling grinned at her. 

"Thank you," He said, and Nate scowled. 

"Don't you know that as a team, we all hate Sterling?" He asked. 

"I hate hate," Sam told him, with a small smile. Nate smiled back in spite of himself. "But it pays to be nice to the enemy." She added. 

"I like you, darling." Sterling said with a grin. "You're the first one to come to that conclusion...and here comes loverboy now." 

They turned to see Eliot coming towards them, decked up in a nice black shirt and jeans, wearing a gun at his hip. Sam thought he looked rather lovely, and couldn't help but smile at seeing him. She therefore missed Sophie glancing at her and then at Eliot with narrowed eyes, then turning to Nate with a raised eyebrow. 

Nate gave her a tiny nod to show that he saw it too.

"Where's Hardison and Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs at?" Sterling asked. 

Everyone but Sam glared at him. Sam just stared at him, and the others noticed. 

"What?" Sterling asked, frowning back at her. 

"That's almost the same line from when you joined forces with Dean and-nevermind, you wouldn't understand that plot anyway." Sam said, sighing. "It's very difficult differentiating you from a couple of very popular shows. Especially one in particular." 

"The one where I'm a Demon Prince or something?" Sterling asked, skeptically. "How can I be that Prince of Hell or whatever?"

"Very easily. Or rather, not easy for your character, but on the show it appeared...I'm just confusing you more, aren't I?" Sam asked, feeling dejected.

"Don't worry," Eliot reassured her. "As long as Sterling's confused, that means he won't be trying anything."

"You have no idea how true that statement is," Sterling muttered, and turned towards Nate who was watching all this with a bemused look on his face. "Alright. So-where are we and what's our next move?"

It seemed that, for now, they were getting down to business.

 

*End Chapter Seven*


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -at this point, I'm caught up with what I've written. I've got the entre story planned out, so I will be updating within the next couple of days. I just need to write out the chapters. Thanks to all who are reading, commenting and voting. It's much appreciated, and you people are awesome!

"Okay, so I've got Hardison and Parker scouting the areas. Wheaton is browsing the net with Parker's dad, and a couple of other folks. A few of our customers are keeping an eye out for anything unusual-moving trucks, and whatnot." 

"Customers?" Sterling asked, with a frown. 

"We've helped enough people that they offered to assist us in minor things like keeping an eye out for unusual vehicles or things on the news we might be interested in. We're letting them know there's scientists experimenting on people, and keeping them safe-they're helping us with a minor detail. We can't keep an eye on the whole city, no matter how good both Wheaton and Hardison are when it comes to tech. It's just too many people," Nate explained.

"Alright," Sterling agreed, reluctantly. "What else?"

"Sam's been giving us info on the abandoned hospital. It seems that there may be more than twenty four captive, though we aren't positive. We want to not only shut these guys down for good, but make sure we free everyone and get them to a safe haven. Sophie's already working on that end, and we've got a couple of staff from the real hospital to help out as well." Nate informed the group.

"Sounds good," Sam murmured. 

"So now what?" Eliot asked.

"Once Hardison and Parker get back from their scouting, and Wheaton confirms he's in on their computer system, then we'll work out a tentative rescue plan. I am not going in there without more information." Nate said firmly. "This one is far too dangerous, more so than the rest of them put together." 

"In the meantime, how about we get a big lunch for everyone? Who knows when we'll be able to eat after the scouting party is back?" Eliot offered, and that, it seemed, everyone was agreeable. 

They began dispersing amongst the kitchen to help set things up, while Sophie left to go recruit some helping hands, and it seemed that-for the moment-everything was fine.  
-

Sam and Eliot were left alone for a brief window during lunch as the rest of the group were scattered. Nate was keeping an eye on Sterling, Eliot was keeping an eye on Sam, and   
Sophie, Hardison, and Parker were off working the case.

It seemed the first time they'd gotten to be alone since Eliot had rescued her from those agents/scientists.

"So...our lives were a television show?" Eliot asked, as he searched for something to say in the thick, uncomfortable silence.

Sam nodded. 

"It was one of the better conmen shows out there. There were others I liked: White Collar tying up with this one. I'm still surprised Mozzie and Neal and others are here." She bit her lower lip. "I'm still thinking that this is all just a really realistic dream, and I'm going to wake up and be disappointed." 

"Why would you be disappointed? You wouldn't have been captured by scientists and experimented on," Eliot pointed out, frowning. 

"Yes, but then I'd never have gotten to meet you," Sam explained, and Eliot stared at her. He noticed her eyes were a light blueish brown color, an odd but pretty mix. Her hair was soft, and glowed golden underneath the lights, and she had smooth, pretty skin. He remembered her saying that she hadn't been like this in her world, and wondered if she'd been prettier or not. He found he didn't much care.

"Wheaton's got something," Nate announced, coming into the kitchen with Sterling and Wheaton on his heels. Sam and Eliot broke apart quickly, and pretended to have been doing random kitcheny things. 

"What?" Eliot asked, curious in spite of himself. 

"I've got all their systems under my control!" Wheaton said with a maniacal laugh, then scowled. "Actually, I've got ninety percent of their systems under my control. They've got their own hacker, and whoever it is is pretty decent when it comes to keeping unwanted visitors out." 

"Have you tried flirting with them?" Sam offered, and they all stared at her. She flushed. "It usually works on tv shows and in books," She pointed out. 

Eliot rolled his eyes. 

"I'll give it a shot," Wheaton began to type quickly on the computer screen, and eventually, a ding was heard...

And the sound of his laptop frying. 

"Shit!" Wheaton exploded, glaring at the screen. "He fried my computer!" 

"If I had money, I'd buy you a replacement," Sam offered, as an apology. Wheaton glared at the screen. 

"Well," Nate began, but Sophie chose to come in with a couple of young women and men at her heels. 

"Nate, I brought friends. What happened?" She asked, noticing the fried laptop. 

"A kick to the ass, that's what happened!" Wheaton muttered, and Sam patted him comfortingly on the arm. 

"One of our hackers got fried," Sterling told her. "Who are these people?"

"Medics, come to help when we get those poor innocent people here," Sophie said, grinning-though she gave a look at Nate, and Nate nodded.

It seemed as though that things were starting to get a bit more serious.

 

*End Chapter Eight*


	9. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a long wait, wasn’t it? I apologize for disappearing abruptly off the face of the Earth, but several things unexpectedly came up. Real Life got in the way (as is the excuse for all fanfiction authors, I am no exception!). I got several comments, of which I’m pleased about. Thanks to all whose shown an interest in this work and have left kudos and comments and bookmarked it for later! I apologize about getting the whole Prince of Hell thing wrong-I’m far behind on Supernatural, and stopped watching around season seven because I hated where the storyline was going, so I just used what I recalled, though clearly I recalled wrong.   
> To be clear: this story is mostly focused on Leverage. I only included White Collar, and the others because Sam’s from an alternate universe. Of course she’d be curious to see how many other tv shows became real here. I also included White Collar because I’m familiar with it, and because they needed a trustworthy FBI agent in this to make the story work. I’ll likely go back and edit it all later, of course, when I feel like doing so. I keep getting requests to add in shows that I have no or little idea about. I’m sorry, but until I can get a better idea on what those shows are about, and get a feel for the characters, I can’t include them in this story because it would feel a lot like lying to me.   
> I’ve got several other WIPs to update as well as a series that I need to add onto AO3. I’m hoping to get this done, but I’m also working on original novels that I hope to be published as well.   
> Apologies for the long authors notes, hoped I cleared up some things, and if you still have questions, please feel free to ask away! And if you have ideas as to where this fic should go, please comment away! =)

Sam was in the bar watching the team converse together. Having watched all five seasons (she had been really rather disappointed when the show had been canceled) she felt as though she knew the team as well as they knew one another. She’d seen their good sides, and their bad sides. She’d seen how they were worried, how they cared about people without trying to show it, and she knew their facial expressions quite well. 

Which is why she became worried when she saw Sophie and Nate become worried. 

Hardison hadn’t noticed that Sophie and Nate were worried-he was busy arguing with Will Wheaton about some complex hacking program that she barely understood. Parker was nowhere to be seen. Sophie and Nate were talking quietly-urgently, it seemed-in the corner together. And a handful of other people that the team knew, that she barely recognized were there as well, each doing their own thing and waiting for the war that might play out. 

The door opened, distracting her, and she saw Mozzie stepping in with none other than Neal Caffrey, Special Agent Peter Burke, and-surprisingly-Jones and Diana. Then again, maybe she shouldn’t have been all that surprised-Peter liked bringing in backup to situations that might be dangerous.

And this was definitely dangerous. 

“So which one of you is Sam?” Mozzie called out, and she stepped forward. 

“You really from an alternate reality?” Neal asked, skeptically. 

Sam hesitated, bit her lip, and thought of a way to prove it.

“She’s from an alternate reality,” Nate said, stepping in for her. She saw the FBI agents look unsettled at seeing him. “And yes, every one of us-except for Sam, probably-will likely have arrest records and warrants. We called you in only because Sam said you were good guys who looked at the bigger picture.” 

At that Peter raised an eyebrow, Diana frowned, Jones looked bored, and Neal and Mozzie glanced at one another. 

“Trouble, Nate.” Parker declared, dropping in from the ceiling. Diana had her gun out, but was already lowering it seeing the glares from Sophie and Nate. “Elliot’s been nabbed by the scientists.” 

“Damnit!” Nate glared. “I told him to be careful!” 

“Well, we tried getting into the building using every kind of badge that we had.” Hardison said, coming in through the backdoor in through the kitchen area. “But they just ignored every last one of them. Even the FBI-er…what are they doing here?” Hardison said, noticing them. Sam frowned-she’d thought that he’d been over there with Will Wheaton, but apparently that had been ages ago, and she was a bit more distracted than she’d thought.

“FBI reinforcements. We can-apparently-trust them. At least, Sam says we can.” Nate said. “And she hasn’t been wrong yet.” 

“What’s that about having fake FBI badges?” Peter asked, and Hardison said quickly, 

“Nothing-”

“Nevermind that.” Sam said. “I know a way to get in.” 

At that, everyone looked at her. 

“How?” Nate asked, curiosity on his face. 

“We let them capture me. Seeing as they’ve been wanting me back, I can get in by letting them snag me. You have me have a small wire that’s easy to hide and track, and come in when I tell you its okay to do so, and I can go in and attempt to find Elliot.” Sam offered. 

There was a long silence. 

“That might work,” Parker said, sounding impressed. 

“Yes, but if we can’t rescue you…” Nate began, and Sam shook her head. 

“We’ve got real FBI here with us. They see those scientists, and they call in their reinforcements, I’m pretty sure that this group is done for.” Sam insisted. 

“Could work,” Neal mused. “Any ideas on how to let you get captured, though?” 

At that, Sam frowned. 

“How about I just walk around the city streets, and hope that they nab me?” She said finally. 

“Or we take you up to the building and ask for a reward?!” Parker suggested, rather gleefully. 

“Exactly who the hell are you people?” Neal asked, looking bewildered, even as Mozzie came waltzing up towards Sam. 

“You gave the correct passwords that very few select people know about. What else do you know?”

“I know the location of the music box…er, was it stolen yet? Or did you find it…” She frowned. 

Mozzie blinked. 

“It was stolen.” He said, after a moment’s consideration. 

“I’ll give you the backstory to that later,” She promised, and Mozzie stared hard at her, before nodding once and stepping back towards the Suit and his team. Nate and Sophie were both arguing heatedly about making Sam ‘turn herself in’.

“I’ve a better idea,” Everyone turned towards Will Wheaton. “Why don’t we send the grifter in as Sam? She’s always good at playing parts, right?” 

“Because what if they discover I’m not who I’m pretending to be and kill me?” Sophie asked wryly. 

“They haven’t outright killed anyone yet, that I know of.” Sam answered. “It might work…and you could always claim to be from an alternate alternate reality. They might buy it, especially if you tell them the story that I told you.” 

“And why do you need us?” Peter asked, cutting across from their plans. He didn’t like the sound of things at all, and knew that this was going to be one of those reports that never got filed by the end of things. 

“We always need more good guys,” Sam began, and grinned when she saw the four of them straighten at that-almost as though they were proud to be recognized as good guys. 

She cleared her throat, and continued. “But yeah, I called you in as reinforcements because if these guys are going around carrying fake FBI badges…or higher…I figured someone from the local government should be made aware. And you were the first people that came to mind that I figured we could trust to fix things the right way the first time around.” Sam added. 

“Huh. Reasonable explanation as any, I suppose.” Peter considered. “Very well. We’ll ignore the fact that everyone in here is a criminal for the time being. After all, if working with Neal has taught me anything, it’s that there’s both good guys who can be bad and bad guys who can be good.” 

At that the team smiled, and for that split second things were peaceful. 

Then that peace was broken when one of Elliot’s pals poked his head through the doorway and said, 

“If you’re going to use the two women as bait, then you might want to start prepping them. The bad guys are on their way down the street, and they don’t look happy.” 

Sam sighed. 

Never a dull moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This fic is unbeta'd/unedited. 
> 
> -I do not own White Collar, Leverage, or any other mentioned show within. 
> 
> -Thank you for sticking with this story, I sincerely hope you enjoy the update. It may be a bit before I can update again, apologies.


End file.
